Delta to Begin Service to Iceland Next June

Yesterday afternoon I received an e-mail that Delta was starting service to Reykjavik, Iceland next June. The once daily flights will depart late from JFK, arriving the following morning in KEF and return late morning from KEF, arriving just before 1pm into JFK.

Delta 52 JFK-KEF departing 11:35PM arriving 9:20AM +1 day

Delta 51 KEF-JFK departing 10:50AM arriving 12:55PM

I have wanted to visit Iceland for quite some time, especially after the currency crash in late 2008 that made traveling to Iceland much more affordable. I chuckled when I read Lucky’s thoughts on the new service because I thought about posting something very similar last night.

My take is slightly different, though. While I would not be opposed to using my SkyPesos for a seat in Business Elite to KEF, my Delta miles are earmarked for a trip on Air Tahiti Nui to Tahiti next February. Instead, I am hoping for a fare sale, say for no more than $400, that will get me to KEF and back on Delta.

From Iceland, I would tack on a trip to Continental Europe using UA miles. For redemptive purposes, Iceland is considered in Europe so a trip to Berlin or Rome would be 25K miles for economy or 45K miles for business class. SAS is the only Star Alliance carrier that serves KEF daily (via Oslo) so a long layover in Norway may also be possible. Additionally, Lufthansa offers seasonal service from Hamburg and Düsseldorf and Austrian Airlines offers seasonal service from Vienna.

About Author

Matthew

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he
travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 120
countries over the last decade. Working both in the aviation industry
and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in the New York
Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, BBC, Fox News,
CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Al Jazeera, Toronto Star, and on NPR. Studying
international relations, American government, and later obtaining a
law degree, Matthew has a plethora of knowledge outside the travel
industry that leads to a unique writing perspective. He has served in
the United States Air Force, on Capitol Hill, and in the White House.
His Live and Let's Fly blog shares the latest news in the airline
industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs and promotions, and
detailed reports of his worldwide travel. His writings on
penandpassport.com offer more general musings on life from the eyes of a frequent traveler. He also founded awardexpert.com, a
highly-personalized consulting service that aids clients in the
effective use of their credit card points and frequent flyer miles.
Clients range from retirees seeking to carefully use their nest egg of
points to multinational corporations entrusting Matthew with the
direction and coordination of company travel.

2 Comments

Matthew, more then just SAS offers service to KEF. Lufthansa has a seasonal service from HAM and DUS and Austrian has a seasonal service from VIE. Very hard to get reward seats on LH and OS! I did my trip to Iceland when it was only 20K for EUR TO EUR with UNITED. Did SK FRA-OSL (20 some hour layover to see OSL) then SK OSL-KEF on the way back did SK to OSL then to ARN then to FRA on LH. It was a good trip for only 20K. One thing to note SAS uses ICELANDAIR lounge and would NOT let Star Gold in the lounge. I emailed SAS they told me they should have let me in.. This year a buddy went also turned away with *GOLD